Madhya Pradesh records 71.16 per cent polling, 68.15 pc turnout in Chhattisgarh

Madhya Pradesh recorded a voting percentage of 71.16 per cent while the voter turnout in Chhattisgarh was 68.15 per cent AT 5 PM on the 70 seats that went to the polls in the second phase of the election in the state, Voting commenced at 7 am today for 230 Assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh.  The election will decide the electoral fates of over 2,500 candidates. A total of approximately 5.59 crore voters are eligible to participate in the election, with 2.87 crore being male voters and 2.71 crore female voters. The election process involves over 5,000 booths managed by women and 183 polling stations specifically run by disabled individuals, officials said. Chhattisgarh has seen 55.31 per cent of voter turnout in the second phase of Chhattisgarh Assembly polls till 3 pm. The turnout in Chhattisgarh was 38.22 per cent till 1 pm. According to the data from the Election Commission, Madhya Pradesh had seen 60.52 per cent voter turn-out till 3 pm in all the 230 assembly seats that went to the polls on Friday. The voter turnout in the state was 45.40 per cent till 1 pm. Chhattisgarh has 90 seats and 20 seats went to the polls on November 7 in the first phase. The timing for polling is from 8 am to 5 pm except nine polling booths in the Naxal-affected Bindranawagarh seat in Rajim district, where voting was held from 7 am to 3 pm. For Chhattisgarh, over 18,800 polling stations have been set up for the second phase of polling. A total of 958 candidates are in the fray across the 70 seats for which polling is being held currently. The main fight in both Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh is between the Congress and BJP. The polls, coming nearly six months ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, are crucial for both the BJP and Congress for various reasons. The counting of votes in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh along with that in Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram will be done on December 3.  With inputs from ANI.